Aeroplane.



J. R. CAMPBELL.

AERGPLANE.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 4, I916.

Patented June 12, 1917.

2 SHEETS-SHEET I- J. R. CAMPBELL.

AEROPLANE.

APPLICATION, FILED JAN- 4.1916.

"Patented June 12, 1917.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2- enn n. CAMPBELL, or Austria", arenas.

annornann.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, JOHN R. CAMPBELL, a citizen of the United States, residing at Austin, in the county of Travis and State of trated wherein:

Texas, have invented certain new'and useful Improvements in Aeroplanes; and I do declare the following to, be a full, clear, and exact description of'the invention, such 'as will enable others skilled in the art to which 1 it appertains to make and use the saliie, reference being had to the accompanying drawin'gs, andto the letters and figures 'of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification. 1 5 i may be variously utilized, to promote the stability of the machine, to provide for ease and facility in landing and to enable the speed of flight to be regulated as desired, independently of the speed of the engine and of the propeller shafts:

An embodiment of the invention is illusin the accompanying drawings Figure 1 is a plan view of an aeroplane in which the features of the invention are 1ncorporated, portions of the planes being broken away to eXpose to view the underlying parts.

lFlg. Qis a side elevation thereof. Fig. 3 is a front elevation thereof. Fig.4 is a detail sectional view showing the air conduits which form the framing of g the planes and one of the deflectors which are combined with said conduits.

Fig. 5 is a bottom plan view of-the' deflector shown in Fig. 4:- g

Fig. 6 is a detail sectional view showing a valve for controlling the co-action of the air currents with the planes.

" Similar characters of reference designate corresponding parts throughout the several views.

The invention is not concerned with the construction of the "body of the aeroplane nor with any particular arrangement of its- Specification of Letters Patent. Patented June 1%, digit W; Application filed January 4, me. Serial No. 70,134l.

planes. As shown, the body 1 resembles the I hull of a boat and is equipped withapair v of planes-2, one at each side thereof.

' The driving equipment of the machine in; 6o

cludes a ,front propeller 3 and a rear pro peller 43 mounted on shafts 5 and 6. respectively and driven from an engine 7 which is suitably located in the body or hull 1. The

shaft 6 has combined therewith amanually controlled reversing gear system 8 of any suitable construction which is shown more y diagrammatically in the drawings j'and by which the direction'of rotation of the rear propellers: maybe reversed when desired for purposes to be hereafter set forth.

The propellers 3 and 4 are located sym- 4' metrically of the bow and stern of the hull 1 and rotate within casings 9 and 10 respectively. The casing 9 is preferably in the form of a truncated cone, its wider end ad pining the planes 2. The casing 9 serves as a deflector or distributer for the air cur-.

rents developed by the 'actionof the propel ler 3, directing these currents rearwardly in concentrated volume. The invention effects the correlation of the .co-action of the air currents developed by said propellers with the planes 2 and proposes means for enabling such co-action to be utilized for the various purposes above stated. These results areachieved by a system'of distributing and controlling the said air currents, which, as shown, includes air the operations of the propellers 3 and 4: and

trunks 11 located at each side ofthe hull 1 y substantially semi-circular in cross section and are applied to'the body 1 in suchmanner that the sides of said body form parts of the walls of said trunks.

The air conduit system'includes connected transverse and longitudinal tubes 12 and 13 .which communicate' at their intersections and are preferably utilized as the framing f of the planes 2-. The tube framings 1213 are supported in any suitable way side of the body 1 and their inner ongieach , tudinal bars 13 are connected by flexible piping 14 or otherwise to the trunks 11.

The tube framings 12'13 are open to the atmosphere at regular intervals. For this purpose openings 15 (see Fig. 4:) are provided which are preferably located at the intersections of certain of the tubes 12 and 13 and at the upper sides thereof. As shown, the openings 15 are provided at the intersections of the several intermediate tubes and thereare nine of these openings for each plane.

It is preferred to combine with each opening 15 a deflector 16 which projects forwardly along a line directed toward the vertical diameter of the casing 9. Each defiector 16 has a downwardly facing convex side and tapers uniformly from its center toward each end. Its inner end is formed as a lip 17 which is attached in any suitable manner to the tube. framing and extends over the opening 15 to direct currents of air into or from said open-ing.

The piping 14 which connects each tube framing l2-13 and the adjacent trunk 11 communicates at its lower end with a valve box 18 formed as a part of said trunk. This -valve box incloses valves 19 and 20 which are operated by suitable lever systems 21 arranged within the body 1. The valve 19 is operative when in a vertical position to cut off the portion of the trunk 11 in front of the valve box 18 from the portion of said trunk in the rear of said valve box and also; from the tube framing 12 13 or when in a horizontal position to cut off the trunk as an entirety from said tube framing While. establishing the communication of its said front and rear portions with one another. The valve 20 is operative independently of the valve 19 to cut off the tube framing 1213 from the trunk 11. Thus in any position of the valve 19 except its horizontal position the trunk 11 and the tube framing 1213 will'be in communication through the piping18, providing the valve 20 is in an open position. f

The casingf9 is open at both. ends and projects laterally for some distance beyond each trunk 11 whereby the air currents de-, veloped by the action of the propeller?) will be directed rearwardly in part through the trunks 11 and in part under the planes 2.

i The casing 10 is open at its rear end and forms, in eflect, a common continuation of the trunks 11. In normal flight the valve 19 Which is not unlike a damper is positioned to enable air. to pass more or less,

freely from one end of each trunk 11 to the other and both propellers rotate in the same-direction. In this way the rear propeller sets up a suction influence of more or less intensity in the trunks 11, the effect of which is to relieve or reduce the air pres sure behind the front propeller whereby the the suction influence developed in said trunks by the action of the rear propeller. It follows from this that. the air currents directed by the casing 9 under the planes 2 will be induced in greater or less degree through the openings 15 and as these air currents pass in relation to the deflectors 16 they produce an accumulated pressure effect under the planes 2 with a consequent development of a sensible lifting or supporting force and a general stabilizing of the machine.- When it happens that the pressure on one of the acting surfaces or planes is greater than on the other one so that the machine tends to list or tilt such difference in pressure may be compensated for and the equilibrium of the machine instantly restored by relative operations of the valves 20, i. 6., by operating the valve adjoining the plane subject to the lesser pressure to provide for a greater pressure accumulation under said plane or by operflight of the machine although it obviously materially reduces the speed of flight as the machine approaches the landing station. At

. the same time the rear propeller, in its reversed rotation, forces relatively strong air currents forwardly through the trunks 11. These aircurrents are intercepted by the vertically disposed valves 19 and are caused to flow into the tube framings 1213' from which they issue with considerable intensity at the openings 15. The effect of these air currents escaping from the openings 15 in relation to the deflectors 16 is to build up under the planes a cushion of air which enables the landing of the machine with ease and without sensible shock.

Instarting a normal elevation for flight may be very quickly attained by utilizing the lifting effects of the air currents passing from the openings 15 and in relation to the, deflectors 16. For this purpose the valves 19 are angularly disposed, the valves forwardlyand the rear propeller is in re- .verse rotation. This causes the air currents to pass from the openings and .under the planes with augmented volume and intensity. The speed of flight may be effectively regulated by reducin or stoplping the rotation of the rear prope ler an a very low speed, as in circling, may be secured by reversing the rear propeller and utilizing for the for-ward movement of the machine only the tractive effect of the front propeller. The speed of flight may also be regulated though Within a reduced range, by

- lowering, and a triangular shaped vane 22 positioning the valves 19 to cut ofl, more or less, the portions of-the trunks 11 infront of the boxes 18 from the portions of said trunks in the rear of said boxes, the speed being-retarded as the communication of the front and rear portions of the trunks 11 is reduced.

A fan shaped plane 21 for elevating and for steering, of any approved type and operable in the usual manner, may be employed.

Having fully described my invention I claim; p

- 1. An aeroplane having in combination front and rearpropellers, lateral planes, a casing surrounding the rear propeller and a system of air conduits associated with each plane, open to the atmosphere at various points under the plane and connected to said casing for communication therewith.

,2. An aeroplane having in combination front and rear propellers, lateral planes, a casing surrounding the rear propeller, air trunk meansextending'from a point in the rear of the front propeller to said casing. and. communicating therewith, and a system of air conduits associated with each plane, open to the atmosphere at various points under the plane and connected to said air trunk means 7 for communication therewith.

' 3. An aeroplane having in combination front and rear propellers, lateral planes, an open-ended casing surrounding the front propeller, a second casing surrounding the rear propeller, air trunk means extending from a point adjacent the rear end of the first casing to the second casing and communicating with the latter, and a system of air conduits associated with each plane, open to the atmosphere at various points under the plane and connected to said air trunk means for communication therewith. I

4. An aeroplane having in combination front and rear propellers, lateral planes, a

casing surrounding the rear propeller, a system of air conduits associated with each plane, open tothe atmosphere at various points under the plane and connected to said casing for communication therewith, and a deflector combined. with each atmospheric opening of said system of conduits.

means at the rear thereof, a second propul- I sion propeller arranged within said propeller casing and means for reversing the rotation of one of said propellers. 6. An aeroplane having in combination lateral planes, an air' conduit system associated with each plane and open to the atmosphere at, various points under the plane and means for causing a circulation of air currents through said air conduit system, said means being reversible whereby said air currents maybe caused, at will, to circulate in either direction.

7. Any aeroplane having in combination front and rear propellers, lateral planes, an open-ended casing surrounding the front propeller, a second casing surrounding the rear propeller, air trunk means extendingfrom apointadjacent the rearend of the first casing to the second casing and communicating with the latter, a system of air conduits associated with each plane, open to the atmosphere at various points under the plane and-connected to said air trunk means for communication therewith and reversing gearing for the rear propeller. 8. An aeroplane having in combination lateral planes, an air conduitsystem associated with each plane and open to the atmosphere at various points under the plane, means for causing a circulation of air currents through said air conduit system and a group of deflectors arranged at suitable intervals over which the air currents pass externally of the conduit system- 9. An aeroplane having in combination a front propeller, lateral planes, an air conduit system associated with each plane and open to the atmosphere at various points under the plane, means for causing a circulation of air currents through said air conduit system and a group of deflectors arranged at suitable intervals over which the air currents .pass externally of the conduit system, the deflectors being forwardly directed along lines extending from a vertical diameter of said front propeller.

10. An aeroplane having in combination front and rear propellers, lateral planes, reversing gearing for the rear propeller, a casing surrounding the rear propeller airtrunk means communicating with said casing and extending from a "point immediately in the rear of' the front propeller, a system of air conduits associated with each plane, opento the atmosphere at various points under the plane and connected to the air trunk means for communication therewith, a valve controlling the communication of each conduit system and said air In testimony whereof I afix my signature. Q

trunk means and a second valve located in in presence of two Witnesses.

advance of the first valve and operable to cut oif the forward portion of the air trunk means from the rear portion thereof or to cut ofl? the air trunk means as an entirety from said conduit system.

JOHN R. CAMPBELL.

Witnesses:

CHAS. 'S. HYER, WM. G. HENDERSON. 

